What we know about Thousand Oaks gunman Ian David Long, a Marine veteran

Authorities identified Ian David Long as the gunman in the Thousand Oaks mass shooting. His neighbor says it's not the first time police have been to Long's home.
Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

This 2017 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Ian David Long. Authorities said the Marine combat veteran opened fire Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, at a country music bar in Southern California, killing multiple people before apparently taking his own life.(Photo: California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)

NEWBURY PARK, Calif. – Sunny Southern California weather has a way of making all neighborhoods look idyllic.

But in one such Los Angeles-area home, a ranch-style house in a pleasant, leafy enclave, lurked a profound darkness. Inside 804 Fowler Ave. lived a troubled man whose rages created booming noises and summoned local police.

Marine Corps veteran Ian David Long, 28, the man accused of killing 12 at a nearby country bar late Wednesday before shooting himself, was a former machine gunner and decorated combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan who, authorities said, had an episode of erratic behavior last spring that suggested post-traumatic stress disorder.

Long's various interactions with police over the years pointed to a man who needed professional help. None came.

Neighbor Richard Berge said everyone on the block was aware when the police came to the Long home earlier this year after an incident.

“Police were here, and they finally get (Long) to come out of the house," Berge told USA TODAY Thursday as FBI agents shuttled in and out of the home Long shared with his mother, Colleen.

Berge described Long's mother as “a very nice lady" – he got to know her after offering to care for one of the family's combative German shepherds – who was frustrated her son wasn't seeking help for his condition.

Although Berge had never been inside the Long house, he said a neighbor had reported seeing walls that were "full of holes," adding that the neighbor got the impression that Long had kicked the walls in.

“She was worried because he wouldn’t get help,“ Berge said. “I asked her, ‘Can’t he just get help.’ She said, ‘He can’t get help.’"

Longtime neighborhood resident Donald MacLeod, 79, shares a back wall with the Long residence. He says he often heard the volatile adult son arguing with his mother at all hours, sometimes “in the middle of the night, at 2 a.m."

Ventura County Sheriff's deputies stand outside the house of the shooting suspect in Newbury Park, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2018.(Photo: Richard Vogel, AP)

MacLeod noted that Long was loud and appeared to be threatening violence. More than a year ago, MacLeod heard a gunshot in the home but did not call police. He said he viewed Long as troubled and kept his distance, adding that he told his wife to treat the young man carefully avoid any prolonged discussions.

“No question in my mind that the guy was troubled,” he said, adding that Ian Long’s time in Afghanistan “made it worse.”

McLeod said Long’s role in the mass shooting fit his impressions. “I’m not surprised at all,” he said. “I did not trust the guy.”

Tim Tanner, who lives on the corner three houses away, said Long was someone who largely kept to himself.

“I’ve seen him a couple of times,” he said. Long was easily identifiable when he drove around the neighborhood in his bright red pickup truck, which was still in the cordoned off driveway Wednesday.

He was a “quiet, normal guy, kept to himself.”

That "normal" characterization stands in contrast to a depiction by a former roommate of Long's who described him as a "weird" loner who could be aggressively anti-social.

“He was kind of weird, he always locked himself in his room, he was always by himself,” Blake Winnett, 35, told the New York Post. “I didn’t really know him very well.”

He should have. Winnett and Long lived together on two occasions in 2012 and 2014, while Long was attending college in nearby Northridge. But Long apparently was purposefully standoffish.

“He didn’t want to help anyone do anything, he was just lazy, I guess,” Winnett recalled. When Long was once asked to take out the trash, he snarled, “That’s not my (expletive) job."

Winnett said he saw no evidence of violence from Long. Instead, he says his roommate often would disappear into the garage where he would practice dance moves for hours on end.

"He would close the garage and be playing music and dancing in there, like sweating," Winnett said. "I would open the garage and would be like, ‘What are you doing?'”

Run-ins with local police

Local authorities said they had periodic contact with Long over the years.

He was the victim of a battery at a local Thousand Oaks bar and also had been involved in two traffic accidents. Deputies were called to his home last year because of a domestic dispute, where he was "somewhat irate and acting irrationally," said Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean.

However, after mental health professionals observed Long, they decided not to pull him in for further observation, Dean said.

Neighbors called to complain of loud noises earlier this year that sounded like he was damaging the house, neighbor Tom Hanson told local TV stations KTLA and KTTV.

"It sounded like he was tearing down the walls of the house," Hanson said.

The Marine Corps released a statement Thursday extending condolences to the victims and their families, noting that Long served from 2008 to 2013, including a 2010-11 stint in Afghanistan. He last post was at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii.

The Marine Corps' commandant, Robert B. Neller, tweeted his "heartfelt condolences" to those impacted by the shooting, while pointedly distancing himself from the Corps' former member.

"That ex-Marine's despicable actions run counter to what the vast majority of veterans are rightfully known for: serving w/ honor then making positive contributions to society," Neller wrote.

Heartfelt condolences to those suffering from the tragic & senseless act of violence #ThousandOaks. That ex-Marine's despicable actions run counter to what the vast majority of veterans are rightfully known for: serving w/ honor then making positive contributions to society

Some of those responding to Neller's tweets brought attention to the general's use of "ex" as opposed to "former," while others asked the commandant to focus the Corps' attention on PTSD and general care for veterans.

Still others put a spotlight on Brendan Kelly, a former Marine who was a helpful hero during the Borderline shooting and had also survived the Las Vegas massacre last year.

Prior to joining the Marines, Long attended Newbury Park High School not far from the family home.

Scott Drootin was Long's baseball coach during Long's sophomore and junior years at Newbury Park, where Long had transferred into from rival school El Modena.

He described his player as a good athlete but not a star — and noticeably downbeat.

“He was a very intense person, he didn’t seem like a happy kid," said Drootin. "The coaches and I tried to get the players to smile and have fun. It was really hard to get him to smile."

That said, Drootin stopped short of calling Long dangerous. "There were no signs of him having an explosive personality."

The home of suspected nightclub shooter Ian David Long is searched on November 8 2018, in Thousand Oaks, California. - The gunman who killed 12 people in a crowded California country music bar has been identified as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a former Marine, the local sheriff said Thursday. The suspect, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, was found deceased at the Borderline Bar and Grill, the scene of the shooting in the city of Thousand Oaks northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: Shooting ORIG FILE ID: AFP_1AO6HY(Photo: ROBYN BECK, AFP/Getty Images)

Drootin did single out Long's mother as some who was devoted to her son. "She really loved him," he said, adding that Long's mother was very active at school and athletic fundraisers.

A Twitter account belonging to Megan Barnes, a Long Beach Press Telegram reporter, reported that a former baseball coach of Long's, Matt Goldfield, had found a 2007 baseball team program that offered details about his former player.

Among the photos of the program posted online, one was of what appears to be a paid ad in the program, purchased by Long's mother. The dedication reads: "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. Love, Mom."

Among the other photos were some of Long in uniform and at the plate. A page dedicated to the player reported him as being 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds.

Long's nickname is listed as Easy E, his batter-up song was "Don't Stay" by Linkin Park and his parents are listed as Colleen and David. He had no siblings.

Under "Home Runs," Long had listed snowboarding, trucks, GRAW and winning. GRAW is a common acronym for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, a tactical shooter video game. His favorite movie was listed as United 93, the story of the passengers trying to take control of the doomed hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001.

Under "Strikeouts," he cited work, Volkswagens and crashing.

Long wrote that his plans after high school included college baseball and professional baseball. Under "After Baseball," Long wrote "Death."

While Long's destiny wound up being the military and not the Major Leagues, he did seem to find some semblance of a normal life in June of 2009, when he wed Stavroula Tzavaras in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to court records.

But the marriage didn't endure. The couple separated in 2011, and finally divorced in 2013 citing irreconcilable differences.

Ultimately, whatever demons lived inside Long compelled him to dress Wednesday in a black, hooded outfit and load his legally purchased .45-caliber handgun that had an extended magazine for extra bullets that is illegal in California.

Long then headed to the Borderline Bar & Grill in neighboring Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, where he first shot security guards and then fired on hundreds of partiers who had gathered for the club's regular "college night" event.

A sheriff's sergeant rushing to the scene to help was among those killed. Long was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound lying not far from the entrance to the club.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Cheryl Tate, center right, the mother of Cody Coffman, is comforted by a mourner as her son, Chayse, looks at the coffin at a funeral service for Coffman on Nov. 14, 2018, in Camarillo, Calif. The 22-year-old was among a dozen people killed in a Nov. 7, 2018, shooting at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif. JAE C. HONG, AP

A man and childe observe the mass shooting victims' memorial grows as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Sunday. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Sgt. Ron Helus was the first officer through the door at the Borderline Bar and Grill, and he was gunned down along with 11 others, last Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

A rose sits atop the cross for Justin Meeks, as the mass shooting victims memorial grows in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Thousand Oaks councilman and pastor Rob McCoy comforts his congregation during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel on Nov. 11, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Pictures of the shooting victims at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif. are shown in the sanctuary of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, Calif., as councilman and pastor Rob McCoy speaks during the Sunday service. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Thousand Oaks councilman and pastor Rob McCoy honor the mass shooting victims during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel on Nov. 11, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. The congregation included fire and shooting survivors, and shooting victim families. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

The congregation, which includes fire and shooting survivors as well as family members of victims, offer comfort and prayers during Sunday morning services at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park. Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY NETWORK

Mourners paid their respects at a growing memorial as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

The FBI and local law enforcement continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

Players wear T-shirts bearing the names of the 12 victims killed in Wednesday night's shooting at a country bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as they listen to the national anthem before an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong, AP

A car is returned to its owner that was parked at the shooting scene as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A memorial grows as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A small memorial of flowers and candles grow at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza as the FBI and Ventura County Sheriff's office continue their investigation at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

A mourning band covers the shield of a Deputy Sheriff on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, after Ron Helus, a sergeant at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office was mortally wounded at the Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

Deanna Johnson wipes away tears during a candlelight vigil organized by area students for victims of the Borderline Bar and Grill mass shooting. The vigil was held at the Ventura County Government Center on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Deanna Johnson, Kaylee Peterson and Austin Peterson grieve at a candlelight vigil on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108 for the victims of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Shooting survivors hug outside the Borderline Bar and Grill as their wait to claim your vehicles on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic- USA TODAY Network

Marshall Lybarger, 22, a survivor of the mass shooting talks about his experince on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Twelve people were shot and killed Wednesday by gunman Ian David Long who opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic- USA TODAY Network

Chaplain Manuel Castro, right, prays with activists Sandy and Lonnie Phillips at a police barricade near the mass shooting site at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The Phillips lost their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, when she was murdered in a movie theater shooting in Aurora, CO. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

A candle and flowers are left at a growing memorial near the site of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

Ben Campbell, a survivor of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill, says his brother survived the Vegas shooting last year during a interview on Friday, Nov. 9, 2108, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY Network

A line stretches out of the parking lot and down the block during a blood donation drive on Nov. 8, 2018, at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, Calif. in the aftermath of the mass shooting. ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

The scene outside a "family reunification center" where family members of victims are gathered to be notified of their loved one's status on Nov. 8, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. ROBERT HANASHIRO, USA TODAY

Alexis Tait, left, who lost a friend in the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill cries with Rachel Berg as the hearse carrying the body of Sergeant Ron Helus passes by in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Nov. 8, 2018. MIKE NELSON, EPA-EFE

Family members are saluted by law enforcement officers after the hearse carrying the body of Sergeant Ron Helus arrived at the medical examiner's office in Ventura, Calif. on Nov. 8, 2018. EUGENE GARCIA, EPA-EFE

Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Armando Viera, center, consoles an unidentified woman on a freeway overpass after a motorcade with the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus went by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Helus was fatally shot while responding to a mass shooting at a country music bar in Southern California. Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Grieving people are led into the Thousand Oaks Teen Center where families have gathered after a deadly shooting at a bar on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Multiple people were shot and killed late Wednesday by the gunman who opened fire at the Borderline Bar & Grill, which was holding a weekly country music dance night for college students. Richard Vogel, AP

Firefighters salute from an overpass as a motorcade with the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus goes by Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Newbury Park, Calif. Helus was fatally shot while responding to a mass shooting at a country music bar in Southern California. Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

An honor guard salutes the body of Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Ron Helus before it departs the Los Robles Regional Medical Center Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Helus was killed after a gunman opened fire the night before inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night." Mark J. Terrill, AP

Pepperdine University freshman Alaina Housley was one of the victims killed at a mass shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018. A statement issued to USA TODAY on behalf of Mowry-Housley and her husband, former Fox News correspondent Adam Housley, confirmed their niece was a victim in the mass shooting that left 12 dead, inside a country music dance bar. Pepperdine Graphic

This 2017 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Ian David Long. Authorities said the Marine combat veteran opened fire Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, at a country music bar in Southern California, killing multiple people before apparently taking his own life. California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean speaks to reporters near the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, where a gunman opened fire the previous night inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people. Mark J. Terrill, AP

FBI investigators arrive outside the house of shooting suspect David Ian Long in Newbury Park, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Authorities said the former Marine opened fire at a country music bar in Southern California on Wednesday evening. Richard Vogel, AP

An FBI agent talks to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night." Mark J. Terrill, AP

Sgt. Ron Helus, of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, died after being shot while responding to a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Nov. 8, 2018. Ventura County Sheriff's Office

People comfort each other at the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP

In this image taken from video, a victim is carried from the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly "college night" in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. RMG News via AP

Police cars are seen outside a country music bar and dance hall in Thousand Oaks, Calif. after a gunman barged into a large, crowded venue and opened fire late Nov. 7, 2018, killing at least 12 people. JAVIER TOVAR, AFP/Getty Images

People comfort each other at the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP

APSheriff's deputies speak to a potential witness as they stand near the scene in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on "college night," on Nov. 8, 2018. Mark J. Terrill, AP